Hit by the economic slowdown, the Centre's tax collections in the next fiscal may be proposed to grow at moderate 15 per cent in theinterim Budget to be presented on Monday.

According to indications, the interim Budget which will be presented by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also holding the charge of the Finance Ministry, in Parliament, would propose lower growth in tax receipts of the Centre due to the slowdown.

During the last few years, the Centre's tax receipts have been growing by 25 per cent.

The tax collections by the government for 2008-09 were proposed to grow by 25 per cent at Rs 6,87,715 crore as per provisional estimates in the Budget.

In 2007-08, the tax kitty grew by about 25 per cent at Rs 5,85,410 crore as per the revised estimates.

However, for the current fiscal, direct tax collections posted a negative growth in November and December, before rising again in January.

Collections from excise and customs duties are already in negative territory since October 2008.

In fact, collections from otherwise buoyant sector, services, dipped by 3.6 per cent for the first time in December in the current financial year.

In the direct tax collections, there is a gap of more than Rs 1,00,000 crore till January this fiscal.

And this gap is against the provisional estimates of Budget for direct tax collections at Rs 3,65,000 crore, whereas the Central Board of Direct Taxes had increased that target to Rs 3,95,000 crore after the first two months showed a remarkable increase.